Special Feature: How to Read Like Bowie - David Bowie's Top 100 Books

David Bowie Is, the newest exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario, is an essential destination for fans of music, fashion and pop culture.

But book lovers should pay attention too; the curators of the exhibit, who had to select a mere 300 items from Bowie's personal archive of over 70,000, felt it was important to include many books that have affected the cultural chameleon.

Curator Geoffrey Marsh describes Bowie as "a voracious reader" who is reputed to read as much as "a book a day". Marsh went on to speak about Bowie's interest in the life of the mind and its power to transcend the rigid class barriers of postwar England, the era where Bowie honed the early versions of his musical and cultural persona.

Best of all, curators Marsh and Victoria Broackes have released a list of Bowie's favourite reads. So if you've ever wanted to read like one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century (and still going strong in the 21st!), check out this list of excellent books. The list shows an amazing depth and breadth of interest, taste and genre from the icon, who has himself been the subject of more than 60 books. There was never any doubt that Bowie is a genius, but if there had been, this list should more than quiet any critics.

So grab one of these titles and settle in to read — and just think, somewhere, at some point, David Bowie (or, to be more accurate, the man behind David Bowie, David Jones) was doing the exact same thing.

And one last fun Bowie fact? The curators had to make custom mannequins for Bowie's costumes from recorded measurements, due to Bowie's 26.5 inch waist.

David Bowie Is runs at the AGO from September 25-November 27, 2013. The exhibit originated in a record-breaking run at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.